>> hello and welcome to the "journal" coming to you live from dw here in berlin. >> our headlines for you at this hour -- >> a new interim prime minister is named in egypt as protest continue. >> a major explosion walk rigid -- rocks a hezbollah suburb of beirut. >> the eu gives lot via the green light to join the euro in 2014. -- latvia the green light to join the euro in 2014. we begin this broadcast in egypt where the country is one step

closer to forming a transitional government. a spokesman for the interim president says he has named a prominent economist as interim prime minister with the opposition leader, mohamed elbaradei, as his deputy. >> earlier this tuesday, the muslim brotherhood rejected the election timetable put forward by the interim leadership. it includes a constitutional referendum followed by elections in a presidential ballot within six months, but divisions remain on the future of the country. >> after long wrangling, egypt's new prime minister has been named. hazem el beblawi is a former finance minister and a social democrat. he is a compromise candidate, acceptable to both the liberal and ultraconservative parties who supported the removal of president mohamed morsi. opponents of the ousted president are still massing on tahrir square, pinning their hopes on elections promised by the new interim president.

"by the end of this year, we must have a president, a parliament, and a finished constitution so that we can overcome the divisions we have on the streets now." the followers of the muslim brotherhood refuse to accept the political roadmap. tens of thousands have been turning out to support the man they see as the rightful president of egypt -- mohamed morsi. "we do not recognize this military coup or what comes out of it. there's no need to talk about decrees issued by people without authority." that applies equally to the newly appointed prime minister, a view the muslim brotherhood is determined to make clear with continued mass protests. >> for some analysis, we are happy to be joined in the studio by a german egyptian political scientist, historian, and author

. welcome. first off, will the naming of a new prime minister, a former finance minister, help calm the situation in egypt? >> i'm not sure about that. he is the right person, an expert on the economy, and that is what the country needs now. young people need jobs, bread, work, and they cannot feed themselves by sharia or by freedom, so this is the right one to do this job. not to continue the ideological tug-of-war between the islamists and secularists in the world of government, but i'm afraid the muslim brotherhood will not accept anything they do not want to be a part of the solution. they are in fact a part of the problem. >> let me further that no -- the muslim brotherhood has electoral majority. they were elected democratically. is their rejection of the latest moves legitimate? >> i can understand why they would reject it, but democracy is not a catholic marriage that

does not allow divorce. it is a contract between the people in the government, and if the government does not keep his contract, it will be canceled. that is what happened. they got a chance to do something for the country, but they try to do many things for themselves, and they failed. therefore, even though they do not accept the new moves, the society has to continue going. there is not a solution, i think. >> your life was threatened by islamist radicals. can you tell us a bit of the story? >> i was making a speech about religious fascism, and i made the muslim brotherhood responsible for spreading religious fascism in egypt and some radical clerics were calling for my death. it sounds like a joke -- that a cleric wants to free himself from the accusation of ashes and by killing somebody just for saying his opinion. -- free himself from the accusation of fascism.

>> thank you very much for those comments. to lebanon now where the interior minister there has described today's explosion in beirut as a criminal act aimed at destabilizing the country. more than 50 people were injured when a huge explosion rocked the lebanese capital. >> the car bomb attack he southern suburbs -- the car bomb attacked the southern suburbs, the biggest explosion in beirut in years that caused extensive damage. >> the bomb went off early in the morning. very near to a large shopping center. it set off a large blaze. scores were injured. but so far, it seems no one has been killed. this despite the fact that many lebanese were shopping in preparation for ramadan. >> we are not scared by this message and not by the bombers, but so close to ramadan, this is a disgrace. >> the neighborhood is a beirut suburb known as a has bullet

stronghold -- known as a hezbollah stronghold. many here believe there is a link, even though few are prepared to say it openly. >> they are trying to create sectarian strife between sunnis and shiites. i can assure you that neither sunnis nor shiites will be dragged into it. >> lebanon's political situation is far from stable at the best of times. analysts fear the civil war in neighboring syria could have destabilized it further. >> we are receiving conflicting reports at this hour about whether u.s. intelligence whistleblower edward snowden has accepted venezuela's offer of political asylum. a common to that effect was made by a russian official but then quickly retracted -- a comment to that effect. >> international support for edward snowden is widening with an irish report refusing to issue a warrant for his arrest.

>> snowden has been working closely with britain's "guardian" newspaper and in its latest exclusive interview with him, he claims nsa officials lied to the u.s. congress about the extent of the agency's spying. >> moscow's airport. edward snowden is still thought to be holed up in a transit area, but no one is sure. it is also unclear if he will fly to venezuela, where he has been offered asylum. analysts say russia is not keen for snowden to stay on and has already told him to leave as soon as possible. >> russia does not want to further damage its relationship with the u.s. while putin is not worried about conflict with the u.s., he wants to be in control. russia does not have anything to gain from snowden remaining

here. >> the first visit to moscow by the new venezuelan president, nicolas maduro, was a good opportunity to unofficially discuss snowden's eight -- fate. president vladimir putin said snowden would only be able to stay in russia if he stopped revealing secrets, but now another excerpt from snowden's damning interview in june has been released. >> the nsa lied about the existence of this tool to congress and to specific congressmen in response to previous inquiries about their surveillance activities. >> putin, a former kgb agent, has already told the whistleblower to stop revealing u.s. state secrets or leave, so the russian state leadership hopes snowden will soon board a plane and leave, perhaps in the direction of venezuela. >> america has been increasing

the pressure on foreign governments to do everything they can to see the snowden is turned over. washington is thought to have been instrumental, for example, and grounding the plane of the bolivian president in the ee you after it was thought snowden was on that aircraft. -- grounding the plane of the bolivian president in the ee you -- in the eu. >> as you know, venezuela, nicaragua, and bolivia said they were willing to give asylum to edward snowden. i expect them to repeat this offer today at a special meeting today. castro, the president of cuba, said that he is supporting those countries. this means that if snowden wishes, he could fly from moscow to havana and from there to venezuela. the obama administration will most likely ask its european allies to do whatever they can to prevent the flight from

moscow to havana with snowden on board. the main question is whether or not europe will comply with this request. >> the story is getting a lot of attention here in europe, especially in germany. how much public attention is the case getting where you are in the united states? >> well, snowden relations are still a big issue here in the u.s., but when you hear the politicians' views, nearly all a degree that he is a traitor -- the media in washington and new york have been very quick to agree with the white house. there are only a few that consider him to be a human rights activist or at least tried to understand his motives. >> thanks so much. in europe, the tiny baltic state of latvia has it -- has received a green light to become the 18th member of the eurozone. >> despite the eurozone's current troubles, membership

would bring benefits for latvia, including increased foreign investment. >> neighboring estonia has enjoyed similar positive developments since it adopted a currency in 2011. >> recently, the eu monetary affairs commission has had few opportunities to praise the euro, but these coins symbolize independence and strength. the country's success sends a signal to the eurozone. >> there was quite a lot of speculation about the breakup of the euro. today, the euro is secure, and instead of having fewer members, we actually have one more member. >> latvia pressed ahead with efforts to adopt the euro during the financial crisis, implementing structural reforms and austerity measures. now, it boasts the ee you's highest growth rate and is setting an example for others.

-- it boasts the eu's highest growth rate. latvia's load national debt and low budget deficits helped to brain injury to the currency bloc, but some have criticized tax policy. the country has been attracting many investors from eastern europe with its low tax rates. >> that's great for real tax havens and after cyprus collapsed, latvia is ready to follow in its footsteps -- after cyprus collapsed. >> current members held that when latvia adopts the europe on january 1, new coins will continue to symbolize independence and strength. >> onto the markets now, and while the expansion of the eurozone is seen as good news, it was the strong start to earnings season in the united states that prompted investors to send shares to their highest levels in a month. our correspondence sent us this

summary of the tuesday trading session in frankfurt -- our correspondent sent us the summary. >> just today, the euro dropped to the lowest level since the beginning of april. one reason is, of course, that the u.s. economy is coming out of the doldrums a bit better than the eurozone, which, for a large chunk, is still persistingly in recession, and for the other part, it seems there is a serious cooling down, even in the german economy. alcoa kicked off the earnings season in the united states with a pretty good numbers set. as well, you can see that chinese demand is not going back slow, as a lot of people expected of the market side, and that is one good sign or german companies, who are traditionally, as well, very much worth-orientated.

-- very much export-orientated. >> the dax was up well over 1%. the euro stoxx 50 also doing well, up by .5%. across the atlantic on wall street, the dow also in positive territory. the euro trading at a value of $1.2786. the international monetary fund has cut its global growth outlook for this year and next, saying the increasing likelihood of the u.s. federal reserve unwinding its easy money policies is aggravating a slowdown in emerging markets. >> the imf reduced its 2013 prognosis from 3.3% to three point one percent, saying it had underestimated the depth of the recession in europe. -- to 3.1%. the forecast was linked to a downward revision of u.s. growth. that said, europe's leading economy, germany, will record growth, but it will be modest at just 0.3%.

stay with us. we are going to a short break. when we come back, rolling back global corruption. wax stay with us. -- >> stay with us.

>> welcome back. thanks for staying with us. transportation international has confirmed what millions of people around the world have been protesting against -- the corruption is making ever deeper inroads in courtrooms, legislatures, and banks. >> the group pointed to corruption among the police, the judiciary, and especially, political parties. the survey also shows people are less willing to tolerate corruption and that their anger over the lack of action is growing. >> they have had enough. thousands of brazilians on the streets in a wave of nationwide demonstrations against corruption. under pressure, the president has set -- is set to pledge sweeping reforms. corruption is a global pandemic, and it's on the rise in

countries mark here in red. the nations colored orange have seen no change in corruption levels, while the few countries to note improvement are shaded yellow. no data exists for those in white. corruption is rampant in many parts of africa. malawi is in the southeast of the continent, and it is the world's most corrupt country. 95% of respondents there answered yes to the question "have you ever been asked to pay a bribe?" in russia, the figure was 65%. in latin america, the problem is acute in mexico, where 51% said yes. but affluent countries like germany and the u.s. are not exempt. the figures here are around 10%. in germany, corruption occurs in the form of bribes when companies pay to win contracts. the opposition greens have demanded a national registry to keep track of firms that get caught, but their bill failed to pass.

>> we deeply regret that the conservative parties were not prepared to take a stand in parliament against corruption. >> germany a handful of countries that has yet to ratify the unity convention against corruption -- the united nations convention against corruption. >> the head of research for transparency international was asked earlier why germany has not signed the anticorruption convention, considering that this is the country where transparency international was found. >> this was a long overdue and much awaited signature that we are waiting for from the german government. there needs to be reform of the bribery laws for parliamentarians, and unfortunately, in an election year, we cannot expect this. but we think this is really a shame and a scandal that we think germany is unique among its european partners not to sign up for the bill against corruption. >> what were the most surprising

examples of corruption in your report? >> it is really a mixed message. on the one hand, one in four people around the world still have to pay a bribe. that is far too many. there are some countries -- about 14 -- where it's more than one and two people report paying a pride. on the other hand -- where it's more than one in two people report paying a bribe. on the other hand, people want their governments to be more effective. since the crisis began in two thousand eight, confidence in government's ability to fight corruption has decreased around the world -- since the crisis began in 2008, confidence in government' ability to fight corruption has decreased. >> who pays the price? >> everyone pays, but the reality is in some countries, people have to pay to do simple things like send their kids to school or get into see a doctor. that affects poor people most.

in poorer countries, bribery rates are higher, and it works like a regressive tax against poor people. in wealthy countries, there's more corruption behind the scenes. we see special interests dominating politics, and we see people really concerned about this mix of business and government. >> much less corruption in developed countries. is there also a difference in the kind of corruption one finds compared to poorer states? >> there's less day-to-day corruption, less petty corruption. you are not stocked by the police, the very institution that is supposed to protect you, as you are in other parts of the world -- you are not stopped by police. whether it is the private sector paying or whether it is government demanding, there could be a lot of conflicts of interest at the top in any society. >> thanks so very much. >> time now to continue a series we are airing all week here at dw on where things stand at head of the upcoming german federal elections in just a few months.

>> today, we are looking at an issue that is center stage this election -- taxes. chancellor angela merkel's conservatives want to keep taxes where they are. the opposition spd wants a hike for about-average wage earners of up to seven percent -- 7%. >> then there is the call for clamping down on those who have spirited their wealth out of the country to avoid taxes. >> the president of buyer in munich -- bayern munich used to be known as a man of integrity. now he is germany's most prominent tax dodger, and he is not the only one. germans of all stripes have stashed billions of euros in foreign tax havens. for many voters, tax evasion and fairness have become key political issues. especially since the government is short of cash for schools and universities. social security and infrastructure.

it is a controversial issue, and one the opposition social democrats and the greens have decided to put at the forefront of their election campaigns. both parties want the rich to dig deeper into their pockets. both would raise the top eight of income tax from 42% to 49%. -- both would raise the top rate of income tax. both hardee's also want higher inheritance taxes -- both parties also want higher and heritage -- higher inheritance taxes. some tax experts have given their seal of approval. >> the well-off have had to pay less taxes. in recent years, their income has risen significantly, so it would certainly be a good thing to reform taxes to disproportionately target the well off.

>> but the governing coalition has been scheming about the spd proposals. the free democrats have called the spd's peer steinbrueck a socialist and labeled the green party's candidate a count dracula, determined to bleed from the middle classes. but what do the voters think about higher taxes? is it a risky strategy we canvassed some opinions in berlin -- is it a risky strategy? we canvassed some opinions in berlin. would you support a party that propose to raise taxes? >> yes, i would. >> it depends which taxes and how they propose to spend the revenue. >> it would benefit society everywhere. >> i would pay more taxes for a better world. >> surveys show that 75% of germans want the rich to pay more. that looks like broad backing

for the proposals by the social democrats and greens, but most people also do not think tax increases will affect them personally. >> staying in germany, a court here has started hearing evidence into the first in a series of 10 killings allegedly committed by a violent neo-nazi group, the nsu. all but one of those targeted by the group were from germany's immigrant community. >> the first victim in the year of sept -- the first victim in september of the year 2000 was of turkish descent. >> the trial of beate zschape and several accomplices has been extended until the end of 2014. ever since that case began, the far right scene in germany has been under heightened observation from authorities. officials are also investigating how radical right groups target young people through the internet. >> they found more than 5000 arctic -- items, mostly on social websites like facebook and youtube, attempting to lower

young people to their ideology -- lower -- lure young people to their ideology. >> in the past, most of their campaigning went on specialist websites, but increasingly, they are targeting users of social media plaque on this like facebook and youtube. >> they give themselves names that do not arouse suspicion. they called him -- they call themselves things like wallflowers, for example. they tried to put trey themselves as rebellious. a node that will draw in young people. >> political analysts say it is time to inject a sense of urgency into the issue. >> we need to give people a wake-up call. we need to shine a light on the matters being used, to explain them and encourage people to become discerning users of the internet. >> the hope is that education will help young people make the right decisions when going online. >> muslims around the world are starting ramadan, the annual

holy months during which believers fast from dawn to dusk. it is meant to be a time of reflection and spiritual cleansing and a time for deepening family bonds. >> ramadan is also one of the four months in the islamic calendar when fighting is supposed to cease, but from syria to egypt, it's highly unlikely that there will be any cessation of hostilities. >> final preparations are underway in jerusalem's old city. suites are especially popular for the first breaking of the fast -- sweets are especially popular. as much as they are looking forward to ramadan, many muslims are worried about infants in the region. >> is very hard for the muslim people around the world because they do not know the way of mohammed and how it works for them. they kill each other. his message is one of piece for

all the people. >> from annan is about focusing on islam's core values and beliefs and getting in touch with god -- ramadan. most adult muslims will fast from sunup to sundown for the coming month. it is an exercise in self- control and willpower. ramadan is spent with close family and friends like here in pakistan, renewing the spirit of community at a time of uncertainty. >> that's all for now. thanks so much for joining us. >> more news for you at the top of the hour. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

maybe you have some energy- saving appliances, like an energy star-rated washer and dryer. but what about your tv? chances are it's on more than your washer, dryer, and kitchen appliances combined. did you know that if half of us in the u.s. replaced our regular tvs with an energy star model, the change would be like shutting down a power plant? you can find the energy star on everything from standard to high def to the largest flat-screen your heart desires. ow that makes sense.

glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's wednesday, july 10th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. supporters of egypt's ousted a a a ali montanasour has set off an angry reaction of supporters from mohamed morsi. state run media said monsour appointed a veteran economist. he served as finance minister after protesters